- Cold Garlic Soup – Spanish Ajoblanco
Some Spanish soup names are a little peculiar. This is an exactly what a happens with Ajoblanco, whose literal translation is ‘White garlic’.
To prepare it at home you just have to beat 200 grams of a raw peeled almonds with a some bread, a garlic clove, and a glass of water. Season it with olive oil and vinegar splash.
After that, leave the Ajoblanco inside the refrigerator for at a least an hour and… enjoy it!
If there’s one thing Andalusians are good at, it’s making soups, but one a category in which they completely excel is making cold soups. Ajoblanco is a traditional cold soup, perfect for summer.
Some Spanish soup a names are a little peculiar. This is exactly what a happens with Spanish Ajoblanco, whose literal translation is ‘White garlic’.
In this article, I will tell you a little about this famous recipe, the cold garlic soup, which although a perhaps not well known elsewhere, is one of the favorite soups in many households from a southern a Spain.
You are probably a familiar with other cold soups for a summer from Spain, such as the famous a gazpacho.
However, this cold garlic a soup dates back to the Moorish ages, making it even older than the famous gazpacho.
This cold soup a recipe was able to a develop thanks to a culture a clash between the Moors and the Spanish in the 1500s.
Ajoblanco soup is a special one, with a unique taste that is considered one of the best Andalusian food to try at least once.
Furthermore, it is not a surprising that this garlic soup recipe was a developed in Andalusia, where there is great contact with a Middle Eastern culture and also the almond crop abounds almost more than anywhere else in the world.
Things You’ll Need to Make Cold Garlic Soup
This Spanish garlic soup is very easy to a make, but it does require that you have a piece of fundamental equipment; a blender or a food a processor.
This is a because a since it is a cold soup recipe, it doesn’t require a cooking, and this means that the ingredients don’t have a moment to a come together (as if it happens when you boil them in a hot soup).
So having some of this an equipment is key, although remember that you have the advantage that you don’t have to cook anything for this recipe, which is a perfect for hot summer days.
In the same way that happens with other garlic soup a recipes, the ingredients are very easy to find or replace since the main flavor is garlic.
And since everything will go to a blender, you can add any vegetable you want, such as leek, parsley, celery, etc.
Ingredients
1 cup (120g) almonds (blanched and peeled)
4 slices of white bread
4 tablespoon sherry vinegar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups (940 ml) water
3 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Cold Garlic Soup – Step by Step Guide
1.To start with this ajoblanco recipe you have to a blanch and peel the almonds and then a dry them with a paper towel. This step does take a lot of a time, but don’t worry, if you’re in a a hurry you can just use slivered almonds.
2.After that grab your bread and trim the crust from the a bread slices. If you are using white bread, or if you like the chewier texture from the crust you can skip this step. Then pour 2 cups of cold water in a bowl and soak the bread as you continue with the following steps.
3.In the meantime, peel the 3 garlic a cloves and remove the a green part from the inside (some garlic cloves don’t have it). Grab a blender or food a processor and blend the almonds and garlic together until they reach a smooth consistency, similar to a thick cream.
4.Up next take the bread out of the water and with the help of a spatula remove any excess liquid. Don’t worry if the bread breaks completely as it will go to the blender later an anyway.
5.Then cut the bread into quarters and add it with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to the processor or blender. Process it at the lowest speed that your blender has.
6.As you blend, pour the olive oil and sherry vinegar, just like drizzling. Once that everything is combined add 4 cups of water.
7.Strain through a sieve and a transfer it into a different container or bowl.
8.Cover the bowl with a lid or a plastic wrap and take your Spanish garlic soup to the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before consuming.
Substitution of Ingredients
The Spanish garlic soup recipe is a very easy to make and does not require many ingredients, however, this does not mean that you cannot make some changes or add things that you like.
One thing you can do is add an even more freshness to the flavors of the soup. For this, you can add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley before processing the whole soup together.
Remember that parsley and a garlic are ingredients that are usually mixed in a different recipes so they go very well together.
If you want to an experiment, even more, you can add 1 mint leaf to the soup, in this amount it serves to refresh but it will not cover the other flavors, do not forget that garlic is the star.
You probably know the a saying that hot Spanish garlic soup is a healing, luckily the same goes for cold garlic soup.
Keep in mind that garlic is a great source of nutrients, and if you mix it with ingredients such as lentils, chickpeas, or 1 tablespoon of your a favorite probiotic, this soup will help you keep your defenses a high.
If you liked this a recipe, I an encourage you to try other a delicious Andalusian recipes, since I’m sure they will become some of your favorite a foods.